Deep Ones
These creatures live in the oceans and come to the surface to either feast on humans or mate with them, aiding those who comply with their will. In Britain and America, they are also known as mermaids and merrows. Scottish folklore tells of the selkie or seal wife. These monsters of Celtic folklore possess a special skin that allows them to live underwater. When out of water, they shed their skin, and if they lose it, they will have to wait to grow a new one. Burning the most recently shed skin will make them vulnerable to weapons. A similar account is that of the Encantado, monsters of Amazonian folklore that are said to come on land for celebrations. They can take the form of a dolphin and a human. Infamously, the Deep Ones are remembered in Greek Myth as the siren. This variant can ignite intense emotion in a victim, often lust, through a “song,” or rather, an advanced mating call. Because of this, they are able to hunt their prey with little resistance, stalking the waters of the Mediterranean. The Scandinavian Fossegrim is far less predatory with their songs. These amphibious beings inhabit bodies of freshwater, known to teach an individual music in exchange for an offering. In the rivers and lakes of Japan, the kappa is rumored to drown victims and use jagged maws to tear at their flesh. Shinto folklore tells that a kappa can be killed by piercing a saucer shaped fluid sac on top of their head. They appear as turtle-like creatures covered in scales, possessing an affinity for cucumbers. Pacific islanders record the Taniwha, sea monsters that are ferocious hunters with rows of sharp serrated teeth that can smell a victim miles away in the water. They are so violent that their attacks are often mistaken for those of sharks. Slavic mythology recounts the vodnik, monsters described to appear as toads that secrete a bufotoxin capable of paralyzing a victim. Far to the north in the North American Arctic, the Qallupilluit are marine creatures of Inuit folklore with scaly skin and an awful odor. They live beneath the ice and kidnap human children, raising to become avid followers that will retrieve human flesh for the Qallupilluit and its kin to feed. For centuries, the Deep Ones have been worshiped as gods. Malian folklore of the Dogon tribe tells of fish deities known as the Nommo, and West African mythology recalls the Mami Wata. According to the Celtic records of Ireland, the fomorians were ancient giants of the sea led by the fearsome Balor. Eventually, they were defeated by the god Lugh the shining, the leader of the Tuatha de Danann. The ancient Egyptians worshiped the crocodile-headed god Sobek, a vicious deity who led an army of serpents from the Nile. According to H. P. Lovecraft, the Deep Ones were the descendants of the Mesopotamian god Dagon and his consort, Hydra. They were worshiped across the Pacific ocean by Polynesian islanders and in the Atlantic by British and New England cultists. In addition to the amphibious humanoid appearance of the Deep Ones, there are also accounts of horse-like water entities. Scandinavian folklore speaks of the Nokk and Celtic mythology recalls the Kelpie or Nick. The Orkney islands of Scotland tell of the nuckelavee, skinless horse demons that inhabit coastal regions. In Greco-Roman mythology, there is the hippocampus, the steeds of Poseidon. Most famously, the Loch Ness of Scotland is said to be home to a water horse first recorded by Saint Columba in 565 AD.